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A beluga whale during an experience program at Geoje Sea World in 2014. (by Nam Jong-young

Dolphins in South Korea’s aquariums are living in poor conditions, a recent examination showed. The full-scale examination of dolphin welfare was the first conducted since dolphin shows were introduced at Seoul Grand Park in 1984.

“The eight dolphin raising facilities nationwide are poorly managed, an issue that the government has been neglecting for decades,” said Justice Party lawmaker and National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee member Lee Jung-mi on Mar. 29.

Between Feb. 22 and Mar. 3, a joint private-government inspection team consisting of Lee and representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and animal rights and environment groups such as the Korean Animal Welfare Association, Care, and Hot Pink Dolphins conducted an examination of health management and facilities for dolphins at South Korea’s eight dolphin aquariums, including those at Seoul Grand Park and Ulsan’s Whale Ecology Experience Hall.

One major problem was the size of tanks at the aquariums, which were uniformly cramped. While total tank area did meet the legal standards of 84 square-meters in water area per animal and depth of 3.5 meters, many failed to meet the standard because tanks were partitioned into various sections, the report showed. The Ulsan Whale Ecology Experience Hall tank, where a dolphin was kept segregated, measured just 38 square-meters, while supplementary tanks at Pacific Land and Hanwha Aqua Planet measured 16 square-meters and 30 square-meters, respectively. The situation is the result of current laws specifying areas per animal only in terms of total raising area, rather than a minimum standard for tank area.

Geoje Sea World, which raises beluga whales from the icy waters of the North Pole, was found not to even have water cooling equipment. As a result, the whales are being supplied with water at temperatures of 20 degrees or higher during the summer. Examples of stereotypy were also found, with dolphins repeatedly banging against walls or leaping in the same position. The term stereotypy refers to animals in zoos and other confined settings repeating the same physical action due to stress. Six dolphins were found to have died at Geoje Sea World in the two years from 2015 to Feb. 2017. On Mar. 30, Geoje Seaworld responded that for belugas, they do have a water heating system for the winter, and a cooling system for summer.

Only five out of the eight aquariums were found to have a resident veterinarian. Three of them - the Ulsan Whale Ecology Experience Hall, Jeju Marine Park, and Pacific Land - employed veterinarians part-time or had aquarium managers tending directly to animal health. Three aquariums did not have manuals for responding to crises such as red tide or salinity changes, while others did not provide documents.

The Ulsan Whale Ecology Experience Hall, which prompted the study in the first place with the death of a common bottlenose dolphin imported from Taiji, Japan, did not even have a management manual for breeders, the study showed.

“While the Protection of Wild Fauna and Flora Act empowers the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to manage and investigate breeding facilities for endangered marine species, the lack of clear regulations on this has resulted in effective neglect in aquarium management,” the inspection team said.

A more detailed study could not be conducted because of aquariums’ refusal to supply data and inconsistent keeping of raising and management records, suggesting a need for regular examinations and studies in the future.

By Nam Jong-young, staff reporter

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